According to Bertness (1980), shell utilization patterns are determined by the
hermit crab preference for a shell species, gastropod shell availability in the environment and interspecific competition.
When a
hermit crab is tucked into a shell it is fully protected by folding a cheliped completely across the opening.
This study shows that eelpouts, Tanner crabs, crangonids,
hermit crabs, polychaetes, and echiuroids were the principal prey of Pacific cod collected in Pavlof Bay in 1995.
Remarks: AH the specimens were collected in shells of Melongena Fatula (Broderip & Sowerby, 1829) inhabited by the
hermit crab Petrochirus californiensis together with the other porcellanids: Porcellana cancrisocialis and P.
Caitlin reaches into a tide pool and balances a tiny
hermit crab on her fingertips.
nitidimanus was the most abundant
hermit crab inhabiting the sand flat, accounting for 91.6% of all individuals.
(1998), on the other hand, focused on anomurans and found nine
hermit crab species in the rocky shores of the Sao Sebastiao Channel, northern coast of the state of Sao Paulo.
A Spider crab B Lobster C
Hermit crab D Sand crab 14.
That risk is even more pronounced for certain types of
hermit crab, who 'remodel' their shells by removing some internal structures.
"I don't claim to know everything," a
hermit crab in the center of the circle said, "but I do know many things.
When studying
hermit crab behavior, it is necessary to provide shells of appropriate size for each individual in order to minimize shell-searching behavior (McClintock, 1985) and to ensure that in shell choice studies (e.g., Pechenik and Lewis, 2000; de la Haye et al., 2011; Pechenik et al., 2015b) the
hermit crabs have an ideal shell to choose as an option.
Take
HERMIT CRAB, 2018, in which two purple plush lobster claws dangle lifelessly from an orange cement mixer.